Global Business Mobility: UK Expansion Worker

Eligibility requirements

• The overseas business must have been actively trading for at least three years, except that a Japanese business expanding under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement must be genuinely trading at the date of application and may sponsor only one worker at a time.
• The UK entity must have a footprint in the UK, shown by Companies House registration or secured UK premises, but must not already be actively trading in the UK. A business that is already trading uses Senior or Specialist Worker instead.
• The sponsor must show a credible plan, with financial evidence, to establish a UK business of the same type within two years. Limited exceptions apply, for example where the overseas business is listed on a recognised stock exchange or the UK government has verified the expansion.
• The worker must have worked for the overseas business for at least 12 months, unless the UK salary is £73,900 or more, or the worker is a Japanese national working for a Japanese business expanding to the UK, or an Australian national or permanent resident working for an Australian business expanding to the UK.
• The job must be an eligible GBM occupation and the salary at least £52,500 per year or the going rate, whichever is higher. The worker must apply within three months of the CoS being assigned.
• The licence is granted with a provisional rating and one CoS for the Authorising Officer where no locally based person can fill that role; once the Authorising Officer has permission and updates the Sponsorship Management System, the licence is upgraded and up to four further certificates may be requested.

Legal framework

Build the evidence

Prepare records that substantiate the relevant criteria. The final checklist depends on the applicant, route and filing authority.

• Evidence that the overseas business has traded for three years: audited accounts, tax filings, bank statements and contracts, with English translations where needed.
• UK footprint evidence: Companies House incorporation of the UK subsidiary or branch registration, or a lease or licence for UK premises, with evidence that no UK trading has begun.
• The expansion plan: business plan, financial projections, funding evidence, proposed UK headcount and the timeline to trading, prepared for UKVI's genuineness assessment.
• The worker's overseas employment record (contract, payroll, social-insurance) demonstrating 12 months' service, or evidence of the salary or nationality exception relied upon.
• Certificate of sponsorship details for the Authorising Officer and subsequent workers, with job descriptions showing senior or specialist responsibility.
• Passport, tuberculosis certificate where applicable, and dependants' relationship and maintenance evidence.

How to apply

1. 01

   Decide whether this is the right vehicle

   Confirm that the UK entity is not yet trading and that the overseas business has the trading history. If the UK business already has customers and revenue, the correct route is Senior or Specialist Worker; if the person is a founder with no overseas employer, consider Innovator Founder.

2. 02

   Prepare the licence application

   Apply for the UK Expansion Worker sponsor licence with the footprint, trading and expansion-plan evidence. UKVI may visit the UK premises. Nominate key personnel; where the Authorising Officer will be the first transferee, the licence is granted with a provisional rating.

3. 03

   Transfer the Authorising Officer

   Assign the single CoS, submit the worker's application and, once permission is granted, have the Authorising Officer activate the Sponsorship Management System from the UK. Request the rating upgrade and further CoS allocation (to a maximum of five workers at a time).

4. 04

   Deploy the set-up team

   Sponsor further senior or specialist workers against the plan. Each is granted 12 months initially. Track the cumulative GBM time of each worker and keep the business plan milestones documented for any extension.

5. 05

   Transition to a trading sponsor

   Within two years the UK business should be trading, at which point it applies for a Worker licence (Skilled Worker, Senior or Specialist Worker). Staff who are to remain beyond two years must switch before their Expansion Worker permission ends.

After approval & family planning

• Partners and children may accompany the worker and may work and study. Dependants do not accrue settlement time on this route.
• The sponsor must keep the expansion on the planned path and report material changes. A UK Expansion Worker licence cannot be renewed, and no further licence of that type may be obtained for the same expansion.
• There is no settlement route. Workers whose UK role is intended to be long term should switch to Skilled Worker once the UK entity holds a Worker licence and the role meets the skill and salary rules, including B2 English.

What this route builds, and what it opens

WG assesses every route on three returns: the knowledge it adds, the cognitive capability that sustained work abroad develops, and the institutional opportunity it opens or closes. Real work is the mechanism in each case.

Programme context. Where a participant has a year's genuine service with the overseas parent and is to lead the UK set-up, this route may be assessed as the vehicle for the first two years, with a planned switch to a Worker route once the UK affiliate trades. Read the framework ↗

Frequently asked questions

Points to consider

• Plan the move to a Worker licence from the first day. The two-year horizon is short where a UK entity needs regulatory authorisation or lengthy premises fit-out before it can trade.
• The expansion-plan test is a genuineness test. Projections that do not reconcile with the overseas accounts, or a UK headcount that cannot be funded, are the common grounds for refusal.